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lONA 
THE SACRED ISLE 



lONA 

THE SACRED ISLE 

A SKETCH 

BY 

ROBERT JAFFRAY 




PRIVATELY PRINTED 

NEW YORK 

MCMVII 



fUBRARY of CONGRESS 
Twu Copies Rwelved 
A!»R 1 1907 
g Copyriffht Entry 
Jf La. fiffty 
oiAss A XXC.,N0. 

'COPYB. 



.ItJ3 



COPYRIGHT, 1907 
BY ROBERT JAFFRAY 



THAT MAN IS LITTLE TO BE ENVIED 
WHOSE PATRIOTISM WOULD NOT GAIN 
FORCE UPON THE PLAIN OF MARATHON, 
OR WHOSE PIETY WOULD NOT GROW 
WARMER AMONG THE RUINS OF lONA." 
DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

Cathedral AND Surroundings, loNA . title 

Fingal's Cave, Staffa 2 

Village Street, Iona 4 

Cathedral and St. Martin's Cross 13 

Cathedral from Graveyard .... 16 

St. Oran's Chapel 26 

St. Martin's Cross 34 




CLOSE proximity to the west- 
ern coast of Scotland lie a 
number of islands which are 
known collectively as the 
Hebrides or Western Islands. 
One of the largest of them 
is Mull, at the mouth of the 
Firth of Lome; and off the 
outer coast of Mull lie two 
small islands of special in- 
terest — Staffa and lona. The 
neighboring shores of Mull 
are rocky and desolate, and 
; to the westward one can see 

little if anything except the 
broad sweep of the Atlantic Ocean ; 
so these small islands seem remote and 
lonely, but they are, in fact, quite ac- 
cessible, being made the objective points 
of daily excursions from Oban. 

The course is taken around the island 
of Mull in opposite directions on alter- 
nate days. If one chooses to take first the 
inside passage through the Kyles of Mull, 
he enjoys a couple of hours of picturesque 
scenery — particularly on the right,where 
the Morven hills of Argyllshire present 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

good examples of that peculiar style of 
beauty so often seen in the heather- 
covered hills of Scotland. 

Near the entrance of the Sound are 
the ruins of Duart Castle, the ancient 
stronghold of the MacLeans. A little 
farther, on the Morven shore, is the site 
of Ardtornish Castle, where Edith, 
"Fair Maid of Lome," came to wed 
Ronald, Lord of the Isles. Other 
points of similar interest are revealed 
as the steamer passes up the Sound. 
In fact, this excursion, like so many 
others in Scotland, derives additional 
interest from the legendary history of 
the neighboring country. It is a land 
of legends; and the border-line be- 
tween these legends and the authentic 
history of the nation is often so obscure 
as to be undistinguishable. However, 
this legendary feature cannot be elimi- 
nated without causing the loss of one of 
the greatest charms of Scotland. 

After rounding the northern shore of 
Mull, the course is taken to the south- 
ward towards Staffa, where an hour is 
allowed for visiting Fingal's Cave, that 




FINGAL S CAVE, STAFFA 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

singular formation whose aspect is so 
well known. The landing is effected in 
life-boats, and the place of disembark- 
ation is changed from day to day, accord- 
ing to the direction of the wind and the 
condition of the sea. The approach to 
the cave is by a pathway over rocks 
which are often so slippery as to in- 
terfere considerably with a proper ap- 
preciation of the phenomenal character 
of the island. A sudden turn reveals 
the mouth of the cavern; and when the 
sea is smooth, those who are venture- 
some may penetrate to its farthest re- 
cesses. The tall basaltic columns which 
line the sides, and the vaulted roof 
which they seem to support, combine to 
give an ecclesiastical aspect to this won- 
der of nature. It has been well des- 
cribed as 

. . . that wondrous dome. 
Where, as to shame the temples decked 
By skill of earthly architect, 
Nature herself, it seemed, would raise 
A Minster to her Maker's praise. 

Staffa presents no other feature of 
special interest, so the voyage is soon 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

resumed, and after a short sail the 
steamer drops anchor at lona, where the 
field of interest is much broader. Many 
centuries of civil and ecclesiastical his- 
tory furnish material for research, and 
at the focal point, towards which the 
lines of inquiry all converge, stands St. 
Columba. 
J lona belongs to the Duke of Argyll. 
It is of small size, about three miles long 
by about one mile wide; and the part 
which the excursionists see is only that 
which is covered by the little village ex- 
tending along the shore by the landing. 
The superficial observer finds merely an 
island without natural beauty, in fact 
of rather barren appearance, containing 
a cluster of little houses, a few ruins, and 
an ancient-looking church, partly re- 
stored; but the island bears a different 
aspect when we realize that it was one of 
the most influential centres for the civ- 
ilization and conversion of Scotland — 
a spot considered so sacred that kings 
were taken there for burial, and so im- 
portant as to have been a bone of con- 
tention between Scots, Danes, and 




lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

Norsemen. It has been referred to as 
"for two centuries the nursery of bishops, 
the centre of education, the asylum of 
reHgious knowledge, the point of union 
among the British Isles, the capital and 
necropolis of the Celtic race/' 

SPECIAL interest in this little 
island is created by its close 
connection with St. Columba, 
that wonderful man whose 
life-work is deeply engraved 
upon the history of Great Britain. 
Columba was an Irish monk of royal 
descent. Tradition states that he be- 
came involved in a controversy which 
ended in a sanguinary war; and that he 
was ordered to leave Ireland and to re- 
main away until he had converted to 
Christianity as many persons as had 
fallen dead by the hands of himself and 
his followers. Taking twelve compan- »^ 
ions, he left the home that was dear to 
him, and headed for the coast of what 
we now call Scotland. Tradition says 
further that he stopped first at the Mull 
of Kintyre, and later at the island of 

5 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

Oronsay; but, finding that even at this 
place he could still see the shores of 
Ireland, he pressed on, and landed at 
lona, where he decided to remain. A 
little bay on the southern shore is 
pointed out as his place of landing, and 
just above it is a cairn which marks the 
spot, where, finding that his native land 
had passed from sight, he was ready to 
take up his new work, an exile but an 
enthusiast. The incident occurred in 
the year A. D. 563, thirty-four years 
before St. Augustine landed in Great 
Britain. It is generally believed that 
lona had been, and perhaps was then, in- 
habited by Druids. The ancient Gaelic 
name of the island was Innis nan Druin- 
each, the Isle of the Druids. 

Columba cannot be regarded as the 
first Christian missionary who came to 
this region, as there are indications of 
an earlier migration from Ireland to 
these shores, and a possible occupation 
of lona by Celtic Christians. In any 
case, Columba appears to have ob- 
tained peaceful possession, which was 
confirmed later by Conal, the King of 

6 



ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

the Northern Scots, to whom the island 
belonged. Columba and his followers 
began their work promptly; and their 
activity and vigor soon brought wonder- 
ful results. From this centre they car- 
ried on a beneficent work, which was in 
time widely extended all over Northern 
Britain. Many churches and monas- 
teries were founded; and lona came to 
be a centre of great influence. Its fame 
as a holy place spread far and wide; and 
when, after the death of Conal, his 
cousin Adian became King of the Scots, 
the new monarch came to lona to be 
crowned by St. Columba. The stone 
on which he sat, the "stone of destiny," 
was thereafter used at the coronation 
ceremony of the Kings of Scotland. It 
was later taken to Dunstaffnage and to 
Scone, and in 1296 it was moved to Lon- 
don. It may still be seen in Westmin- 
ster Abbey, fastened under the seat of 
the chair in which the monarchs of 
Great Britain are crowned. 

An interesting reference to this in- 
cident is found in a little book, long 
since out of print, which was written 



i/ 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

by the Duke of Argyll about forty years 
ago, under the title " lona." 

The author writes as follows; 

" Hither came holy men from Erin to 
take counsel with the Saint on the 
troubles of clans and monasteries which 
were still dear to him. Hither came, 
also, bad men, red-handed from blood 
and sacrilege, to make confession and do 
penance at Columba's feet. Hither, 
too, came chieftains to be blessed, and 
even kings to be ordained — for it is 
curious that on this lonely spot, so far 
from the ancient centres of Christendom, 
took place the first recorded case of a 
temporal sovereign seeking from a min- 
ister of the Church what appears to have 
been very like formal consecration." 

It affords a good illustration of the 
far-reaching interest which attaches to 
this little island. 

There is also a tradition that this 
stone is identical with the stone of Luz, 
on which Jacob rested his weary head; 
but one may be pardoned for feeling a 
little skeptical when tradition oversteps 
so far the bounds of probability. 

8 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

In time, the island came to be known 
as Icolmkill, **the island of Columba of 
the Church," or **the island of Columba 
of the burial-place" — both translations 
being given as the English equivalent of 
the Gaelic title. 

Columba died in 597. It is stated 
that, when he saw death approaching 
he spoke prophetically of the future of 
lona, assuring his associates that their 
insignificant little island would be one of 
the honorable places of the earth; and 
that the kings and people of Scotland 
and of other nations would reverence 
the spot. This prophecy has been well 
fulfilled. In addition to the monastical 
work carried on by the successors of 
Columba, a special interest in lona was 
created by its use as a burial-place for 
dignitaries of Church and State. Here 
for centuries were brought the bodies of 
kings, warriors, chieftains, and eccle- 
siastical rulers, that they might rest in 
this sacred place. 

One who visited lona in the sixteenth 
century gives a description of a burial- 
place in which there stood three tombs 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

of Stone, built like chapels, and each 
bearing an inscription. On one were 
the words Tumulus Regum Scoiice, and 
in this were buried forty-eight Scottish 
kings, including Duncan and Macbeth. 
On another tomb were the words Tum- 
ulus Regum Hibernice, and this contained 
the bodies of four Irish kings. The 
third tomb was marked Tumulus Regum 
Norwegice, and here lay buried sundry 
Norwegian rulers, who, if not literally 
Kings of Norway, were at least Kings of 
Norwegians. The Hebrides were more 
or less subject to Norway for aboilt four 
centuries, and their rulers bore the title 
" Kings of the Isles.'' Within the burial 
place lay also the bodies of most of the 
Lords of the Isles, those rulers who held 
sway, with more or less independence, 
in the centuries following the Norwegian 
occupation. The tombs referred to 
have disappeared, but the burial-place — 
in part, at least — is still to be seen. Its 
ancient name was Reilig Orain, the bur- 
ial-place of Orain or Oran. Consider- 
able doubt exists about the identity of 
the Saint after whom it was named. He 

10 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

is reported to have been Columba's 
brother, but the oldest existing list of 
Columba's companions does not include 
his name. Some think the name is that 
of an Irish saint who died before Col- 
umba came to lona. Numerous grave- 
stones are found, most of them lying 
flat on the ground. Several of the most 
interesting ones have been gathered to- 
gether and laid side by side, and sur- 
rounded by iron railings for protection 
from hunters of relics. 

The gravestones are worthy of much 
more careful examination than is pos- 
sible in the hasty visit of the excursion 
parties. They bear carvings of a curi- 
ous character, comprising a wide variety 
of designs. There are representations 
of animals, and of galleys, swords, crosses, 
geometrical designs, and various sym- 
bols and devices of a mysterious charac- 
ter. Some of the stones are covered 
with elaborate traceries. Many bear 
figures of the dead cut in low relief; and 
others have similar figures in the shape 
of effigies raised up on the face of the 
stones. In many cases the stones can 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

be identified; and these are mostly com- 
memorative of chiefs of Scottish clans 
who died between the thirteenth and 
sixteenth centuries inclusive. The older 
monuments have disappeared. One 
stone in the enclosure is said to cover 
the body of a King of France. 

The burial-ground was, in the ancient 
times, approached by a road which led 
from a bay where the funeral parties 
landed. This road was known as the 
Street of the Dead, and although it is 
now obliterated, there are landmarks to 
indicate its general direction through a 
part of the village. It takes but little 
imagination to picture the sad proces- 
sions of men of high degree which passed 
along that path in the days when lona 
was looked upon as holy ground. 

There are other points of interest for 
the antiquarian, besides the graveyard 
mentioned above. The ruins of a nun- 
nery, which was founded about the end 
of the twelfth century, are shown as one 
passes from the landing to the graveyard. 
St. Oran's chapel is a ruined building, 
about thirty feet long, concerning which 



1 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

little appears to be known. It stands 
within the enclosure of Reilig Grain, 
and was probably built about the elev- 
enth century. Across the burial-yard 
and near the shore of lona Sound, stands 
the Cathedral. It is a stone building of 
about the thirteenth century, measur- 
ing about 1 50 feet in length, and having 
a square central tower. The style of 
the building is simple, but impressive. 
The choir has undergone a process of 
restoration in recent years. The nave is 
in ruins. Adjacent to the Cathedral are 
the ruins of the monastery buildings. 

Near the Cathedral door stands St. 
Martin's Cross, a relic of considerable 
interest to those who are versed in Celtic 
antiquities. It is about fourteen feet 
high, of a gray stone, and similar in gen- 
eral appearance to others still to be found 
in Great Britain and Ireland. It is 
quite different in style from the Latin 
cross; the arms are short, and they are 
connected with the head of the cross 
by an attached circle. The cross was 
erected to the memory of St. Martin of 
Tours, and it is believed to date from the 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

twelfth century, or earlier. Another 
cross, MacLean's, stands nearer the 
village, but is considered to be of a 
much later date. 

It is to be noted that the only relics 
of antiquity now visible are of a much 
later age than that of Columba. Var- 
ious localities are pointed out as con- 
nected with the incidents of his life, and 
apparently with a considerable degree 
of accuracy; but a detailed consider- 
ation of them would only be of interest 
to the compilers of guide-books or to 
those who desire to make a complete 
study of the Saint's life and times. 

It would be difficult, if not impossible, 
to give in brief compass a satisfactory 
account of the great work which was 
either carried on personally by Columba 
and his associates, or may be attributed 
to their influence and inspiration in the 
lives of those who followed them. Picts, 
Scots, and Britons came under the spell 
of those earnest men, who did not con- 
fine themselves to the mainland, but 
visited also thedistant Hebridean islands, 
and even went, according to report, as 

14 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

far as Iceland. After Columba's death 
the influence of this old Celtic church 
became even more widely extended. 
Oswald, King of Northumbria, asked 
for a missionary from lona to labor 
among his people, and Aidan was sent. 
He established himself upon the island 
of Lindisfarne, off the Northumbrian 
coast; and so by degrees the influences 
which originated at lona spread out over 
the southern half of Great Britain. 

During the two centuries after Col- 
umba's death, the monastic work of 
lona passed through various vicissi- 
tudes, mainly theological. In the fol- 
lowing two centuries there were stormy 
times from other causes, as the Island 
was frequently ravaged by the Danes 
and the Norsemen. In 1074 the West- 
ern Islands came under the rule of Mal- 
colm Canmore, a Scottish king, whose 
queen, Margaret, is said to have re- 
stored the monastery at lona from the 
demoralization resulting from these 
times of war. For several centuries 
after this time, comparatively little is 
known of the island's history. 

15 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

W^W^' F'JLL consideration of lona's 
^m """ place in literature would require 
/y^^ more extended treatment than 
W'\ is appropriate to this sketch; 
Atejjk but it is desirable to note two in- 
^^' teresting features of her literary 
history — one in the remote past, and 
one in our own times. 

It is a remarkable fact that we have 
a biography of the Saint of lona written 
by one who was born only a few years 
after Columba's death, so that the book 
has almost the value of a contemporary 
work. Adamnan's "Life of St. Co- 
lumba'' was no doubt a book of great 
interest to those who lived in the seventh 
century, but it does not appeal to the 
literary tastes of our own times. 

The book is divided into three parts. 
Generally speaking, the first part treats 
of the Saint's prophetic revelations; the 
second part tells of his miraculous 
powers; and the third part relates the 
angelic visitations which were granted 
to him, and also describes his last days 
upon earth. The foregoing divisions 
are not, however, strictly maintained, 

i6 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

and it is unnecessary to discuss them 
separately and in detail. 

If we were prepared to believe one 
half of the incidents related, we should 
need no further proof that Columba 
was one of the most remarkable men 
the world ever saw. It is stated that 
he cured men of diseases, drove away 
demons, controlled wild beasts, quieted 
stormy waves, turned water into wine 
for use in the Mass, mended broken 
bones, caused grain to ripen early al- 
though sowed late, and lastly, that he 
even raised the dead. It is stated that 
on one occasion he received requests for 
favorable winds from two men who 
wished to sail at the same time in oppo- 
site directions, and even this was accom- 
plished by his power. Adamnan evi- 
dently thinks it necessary to fortify this 
last incident against any possible doubts, 
so he takes pains to explain that the 
power of Columba's prayers was great, 
and reminds the reader that "all things 
are possible to him that believeth." 

Many incidents are given of Columba's 
prophetical powers, not only in fore- 

17 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

telling future events, but also in appar- 
ently seeing events occurring at the time 
in places beyond the range of human 
vision. Here, although still skeptical 
as to details, we are forced to acknow- 
ledge the possibility that there may be 
some truth in the incidents related. 
The gift of ''second sight" has been for 
many centuries more or less common in 
Scotland. Some have considered it 
merely the product of an overwrought 
imagination; but others have claimed 
for it some degree of reality. All that 
need be said here is that we need not 
consider these manifestations of Co- 
lumba's powers as necessarily based en- 
tirely on fable. 

The most interesting part of the book 
is found in its closing pages, where a 
detailed account is given of Columba's 
last days upon earth. The wonderful 
stories mentioned above, which have 
taxed our credulity, are soon forgotten 
as we read the simple and yet graphic 
narrative of the premonition of death, 
the long farewell, and the sorrowful as- 
sembly of the monks in the church when 

i8 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

the aged man passed away at midnight 
on the altar steps. In fact, leaving aside 
the references to supposed prophetical 
and miraculous powers, there is through- 
out the book a singular attraction in the 
story of the simple life of benevolence 
which was lived by these monks of lona. 
It has been said that Adamnan 
thought in Gaelic and wrote in Latin. 
While, therefore, the Latin form disap- 
pears in the translation, it is not strange 
that we should, nevertheless, still recog- 
nize in this work the highly developed 
imagination and the love of the super- 
natural which are so closely associated 
with the Gaelic nature. These charac- 
teristics, it may be noted, have not 
passed away from the modern represen- 
tatives of that ancient race; and no 
doubt their preservation is to some ex- 
tent due to the continued use of the 
Gaelic as a living language in the Heb- 
rides and the Scottish Highlands. 



19 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

.^ 'HE same spirit of fable and leg- 

m ^-.end which permeates Adamnan's 
m' "^'stories of the distant past, is still 
^\ hovering about this little island 

Be' in our own times; and it is espe- 

^^* daily manifested in the writings 
of that one recent author who, more 
than any other, speaks for lona in mod- 
ern romantic literature, Fiona Macleod. 
The interest which Miss Macleod's works 
themselves create is much increased by 
the facts about her which have recently 
been revealed. She was understood to 
be a lady of Hebridean or Highland 
family, whose identity, for reasons of 
her own, it was necessary to conceal. 
It follows, therefore, that little could be 
ascertained in regard to her. 

The late William Sharp claimed to 
know Miss Macleod; various statements 
were attributed to him with reference to 
her; and it is even said that he presented 
to some of his friends a lady bearing 
that name. Since his death it has been 
authoritatively announced that the name 
"Fiona Macleod '* was a pseudonym, 
and that Mr. Sharp was himself the real 

20 



ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

author. Even with this knowledge, 
however, it will never be possible to 
dissociate these writings from the name 
over which they appeared. Miss Macleod 
may not have existed in the flesh, but 
she is, nevertheless, in the literary 
world a distinct and living personality, 
with strongly marked characteristics. 
The hand that wrote was the hand of 
William Sharp, but it held a woman's 
pen. 

An enthusiastic interest in the Gaelic 
people, their legends, and their folk-lore, 
is manifested in this writer's work. Its 
field covers all the Hebridean islands, 
but the central point is lona. It is not, 
however, the quantity of the material re- 
ferring to this island, but rather its qual- 
ity, which attracts our interest. 

Two articles about lona over the 
signature of "Fiona Macleod" appeared 
in the Fortnightly Review during the 
year 1900; they were afterwards re- 
vised and enlarged, and published in 
book form, under the appropriate title, 
"The Isle of Dreams." The following 
extract from that book is not only 



ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

characteristic in style, but also sing- 
ularly expressive of the author's point 
of view : 

*'A few places in the world are to be 
held holy, because of the love which con- 
secrates them and the faith which en- 
shrines them. Their names are them- 
selves talismans of spiritual beauty — of 
these is lona. 

" But to write of lona, there are many 
ways of approach. No place that has 
a spiritual history can, to those who 
know nothing of it, be revealed by facts 
and descriptions. ... I have nothing 
to say here of lona's acreage, or fisheries, 
or pastures; nothing of how the isl- 
anders live. These things are the ac- 
cidental. There is small difference in 
simple life anywhere. Moreover, there 
are many to tell all that need be known. 

"There is one lona, a little island of 
the West. It is but a small isle, fash- 
ioned of a little sand, a few grasses, salt 
with the spray of an ever-restless wave, 
a few rocks that wave in heather, and 
upon whose brows the sea-wind weaves 
the yellow lichen. But in this little isl- 

22 



1 



ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

and a lamp was lit whose flame lighted 
pagan Europe, from the Saxon in his 
fens to the swarthy folk who came by 
Greek waters to trade the Orient. Here 
Learning and Faith had their tranquil 
home, when the shadow of the sword lay 
upon all lands, from Syracuse by the 
Tyrrhene Sea to the rainy isles of Orca. 
From age to age, lowly hearts have 
never ceased to ease their burthen here. 
To tell the story of lona would be to go 
back to God, and to end in God. There 
is another lona of which I would speak. 
I do not say that it lies open to all. It 
is as we come that we find. If we come 
bringing nothing with us, we go away 
ill-content, having seen and heard noth- 
ing of what we had vaguely expected to 
see or hear. It is another lona than the 
lona of sacred memories and prophecies 
— lona the metropolis of dreams. None 
can understand it who does not see it 
through its pagan light, its Christian 
light, its singular blending of paganism, 
and romance, and spiritual beauty." 

The reader quickly fmds himself in an 
atmosphere of legends, dreams, and im- 

23 



ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

aginations. Some of these are of a re- 
ligious nature, such as the belief current 
in some quarters that Christ will appear 
again upon lona; and a legend that 
Mary Magdalen was buried in a cave on 
the island; and a strange and indefinite 
expectation that there will be on lona 
a further manifestation of the work of 
redemption through the advent of a 
Divine Woman. 

Other legends are of a secular char- 
acter, in most cases touching the under- 
world of mystery and magic. We are 
told of the Sidhe or People of the Hills, 
who, though found in some of the 
lonely isles, have their kingdom in the 
Far North. It is related that one of 
Columba's monks sailed towards their 
country; and he sailed and sailed for 
nine years, and then lived with the 
Sidhe for three hundred years, and 
finally came back to lona. He related 
his adventures to the monks then on 
the island, but when he began to tell 
of the lovely creatures he had seen in 
that far distant land, he was promptly 
buried alive I 

24 



ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

Shonny, a sea god, is mentioned — 
evil in his ways, and greatly feared. 
There is also another sea god, Menaun 
by name, who sometimes lives in the 
sea, fashioned in a mysterious shape, 
and sometimes goes ashore in the guise 
of a human being. We read also the 
legend of Black Angus, who was turned 
into a seal; and we are told of a monk 
who preached the Word to the seals 
along the shore. There are also tales 
of "second sight," and various stories 
of life on lona and the neighboring isles, 
— all having a local color which invests 
them with a great charm. 

In another book the author tells a 
legend of St. Brighid or St. Bride, who 
has always been dear to the Gaelic heart 
under her name of ''Muime Chriosd'' — 
the Foster-Mother of Christ. Briefly, 
the story relates how Brighid and her 
father were shipwrecked on the shore of 
lona. The little girl was welcomed by 
the Druids, who recognized in her the 
fulfilment of a prophecy. She grew up 
beautiful in appearance and in character. 
One day, at the Fountain of Youth, on 

25 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

Dun-I,* she saw a vision of a woman 
of great beauty. Soon afterwards a 
white dove appeared who led Brighid 
far away, over distant desert lands, to 
Bethlehem, where her father was keep- 
ing an inn. 

In the father's temporary absence 
from the inn, an elderly man with his 
wife asked for shelter. The wife ad- 
dressed Brighid in Gaelic, and Brighid 
recognized her as the lovely woman who 
had appeared in the vision on lona. 
The pair were lodged in the stable, and 
there the Babe was born. Brighid 
nursed the Child while Mary slept. To- 
wards morning Brighid fell into a deep 
sleep, and when she awoke the travellers 
were gone. She set out to follow them, 
and finally caught a sight of the city of 
Jerusalem; and then suddenly was trans- 
ported back to lona and to her old life. 

Aside from the anachronism of re- 
ferring to St. Bride as living at the time 
of the Christian era, there are other mat- 
ters which a friendly criticism must over- 
look. We cannot think of the Scriptural 

*The hill on lona. 

26 



IP^ 




ION A, THE SACRED ISLE 

incident taking place at an inn called 
" Rest and Be Thankful " ; nor does it ac- 
cord with our ideas to read of collies and 
pipers, and of people drinking ale and 
eating oatcakes and scones, in Bethle- 
hem. But these features are only in- 
cidentals; the essential part of the beau- 
tiful legend remains, and its beauty is 
enhanced by the graceful way in which 
it is related. 

Another legend of the island tells how 
Columba conversed one day with Ardan, 
an ancient Druid, about their respective 
religions. Ardan stated in the course of 
conversation that the birds all knew the 
mystery of the Cross. Columba med- 
itated long over the idea; and the next 
day, to test the statement, he called to 
the birds to gather at lona. They came 
from every quarter, from distant moors 
and lochs, and mountain sides; and 
Columba said Mass for them as they sat 
around him. 

Among the various tales of lona — 
ancient and modern, sacred and secular 
— found in Fiona Macleod's works, there 
is one which is worthy of special men- 

27 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

tion, The Sin Eater. Neil Ross, after 
a long absence, is returning to lona, un- 
recognized through the changes which 
the lapse of years have wrought. He 
hopes for a chance to stop on the way 
and curse to the face his old enemy, 
Adam Blair. From an aged woman, 
who finally recognizes him, he learns 
that he is too late, for Adam has just 
died, and is laid out for the burial. As 
Neil is in sore need of money, he is 
persuaded to earn a fee, in accordance 
with a current superstition, by taking 
upon himself the sins of the dead man. 
This could be done by an entire stranger, 
who naturally bore no grudge in his 
heart; and in such case he would be grad- 
ually purified of the sins by the air of 
Heaven. Neil accordingly eats some 
bread and drinks some water which had 
been placed on the breast of the corpse, 
receives his fee, and departs. He had 
been told that even if the Sin Eater had 
a grudge, he could, nevertheless, find a 
way of easing his burden of sins by cast- 
ing them into the sea. It appears, how- 
ever, that the sins could not be thus 

28 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

disposed of if the Sin Eater was con- 
cealing a crime; and Neil soon found he 
could not get rid of the awful burden he 
had assumed. He crossed over to lona 
to live in his old ancestral home, but he 
found his homecoming was very different 
from his anticipations. Shunned by 
the inhabitants, who seemed to suspect 
some deep mystery, he went deeper and 
deeper into the horrors of madness; 
tried again and again to prevail on the 
waves to take his burden; called himself 
Judas; and finally was drowned, tied to 
two pieces of wood fastened together in 
the shape of a cross. 

This brief resume gives no idea of the 
graphic style in which the narrative is 
told. The scene at the death watch, 
when one old woman tells another that 
the mice have left the house because the 
soul of the dead man, loth to leave, is 
trying to hide in the dark corners and be- 
hind the walls; the description of the 
mysterious rites according to which the 
Sin Eater performed his task; the ac- 
count of how the corpse laughed when 
the mourners saw Neil going away; all 

29 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

these are examples of word-painting 
which must be read to be appreciated. 

It is a pleasure to turn from an awful 
tale like this to some of the other stories 
which show the beautiful side of Gaelic 
folk-lore — such, for instance, as the story 
of The Anointed Man. Allison Achanna 
was not understood by his neighbors. 
He was ''fey." He could always smile, 
even when surrounded with distress and 
suffering. Once he explained to a little 
girl why he was thus. Years before 
when lying on the ground with his face 
buried in the heather, two tiny hands 
had pressed something soft on his eye- 
lids. He had been touched with the 
Fairy Ointment, and thereafter all the 
world and all its inhabitants were beau- 
tiful, and there was no more sin, nor 
ugliness, nor distress. 

Surely no further examples are neces- 
sary to prove how appropriately this 
little island is called ''The Metropolis 
of Dreams''; but only the original writ- 
ings themselves can show the perfection 
of the local color which adds such a 
charm to the gifted author's works. 

30 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

A phrase, or a brief sentence, alludes to 
some aspect of nature or some manifes- 
tation of its forces, and one immediately 
recognizes the accuracy of the Hebrid- 
ean picture. 

The direct references to lona are, of 
course, only incidents in the consider- 
ation of the broad field of Gaelic tradi- 
tion and folk-lore; but it is made clear 
that there is no other spot in Scottish 
Gaeldom which can compare with lona 
in the absorbing interest which it in- 
spires — whether viewed from the stand- 
point of history, of religion, or of ro- 
mance. In fact, it is the peculiar com- 
bination of Christianity, Paganism, His- 
tory and Romance associated with lona, 
which makes this interest so great. The 
author's power comes from a deep af- 
fection and admiration for the Gael, and 
a soulful sympathy with all that is sad 
and mysterious, as well as all that is 
beautiful, in his nature and in his lit- 
erature. 



31 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

l^-.EAViNG the island, the homeward 
^Si course lies first to the southward, 
iSP^ among the numerous reefs and rocky 
W! islets of lona Sound; and then, 
i Wi......^ ; rounding the corner of Mull, the 

<^^!S[ steamer passes from the open sea 

Wf-' into the Firth of Lome, towards 
Oban. On the left lie the rocky shores 
of Mull — desolate, and yet picturesque, 
since the granite rocks are streaked with 
red, and covered here and there with 
patches of green moss. There is no sign 
of life except the great flocks of gulls, 
and the puffms, cormorants, and other 
birds which are moved to flight at the 
approach of the steamer. 

The voyage is ended at Oban to- 
wards the close of the afternoon; and 
the picturesque view of the town and 
its vicinity which is afforded by the ap- 
proach up the Firth of Lome is a pleas- 
ant incident in this enjoyable and 
unique excursion. 

Yes, the voyage is over, but the mem- 
ories it arouses will not soon pass away. 
We have been on the borders of Dream- 
land, and have learned something of its 

32 



IONA,THE SACRED ISLE 

mysteries. Let us not, however, be so 
fascinated by our experiences in this 
respect as to overlook that which is 
substantial and enduring. 

It has been necessary to take a dis- 
tant view into centuries long past, in 
order to obtain an adequate impression 
of the important part which this island 
has played in the history of Great 
Britain. 

One should not visit lona with the 
expectation of seeing beauty of land- 
scape or of architecture; her great 
claim on the traveler's attention lies 
rather in her far-reaching historical 
interest, and in her sacred associa- 
tions. When one thinks of the dis- 
tant centuries during which this little 
island was like a beacon light stand- 
ing for Christianity, civilization, and 
useful knowledge; when one appre- 
ciates the fact that beneath the sod 
lie the bones of kings, chiefs, abbots, 
monks, priests, and others who, in 
their generation, were important factors 
in the civilization and the religious and 
civil government of the country; it is 

33 



lONA, THE SACRED ISLE 

then that one reaHzes lona is a place 
of more than ordinary interest. For 
the early years of the nation's history 
it is the Westminster Abbey of Scot- 
land. 




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